Business and Leadership Books

My friend Vicki recently asked me to post a list of "10 things you might not know about me" on Facebook. This is the only entry that surprised my friends:

"I like to read pop business and leadership books. Right now I'm reading Garrett Miller's Hire on a WHIM: Four Qualities That Make for Great Employees. It's a fast read and offers great practical advice."

For the past 20 years or so, I have been reading business and leadership books. These books offer great advice for people in all fields of work, even children's librarianship. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Hired Right Out of College by Garrett Miller.

 Miller, Garrett, Marilyn Gasior, and Victor B. Miller. Hired 'right' Out of College: From Classes to Career : a Step-by-Step Guide to Discovering the Career You Were Born to Pursue. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing, 2012. Print. ISN: 9781457511363.

This career advice book is the next What Color is Your Parachute. Miller offers practical information in a concise and well-organized manner. Miller writes: "You can't be anything that you want to be, but you should be what you have been gifted to be." Miller's advice is  down-to-earth and inspirational at the same time. 

2. Hire on a WHIM by Garrett Miller.

 Miller, Garrett, Jim Thrasher, and Adele M. Annesi. Hire on a Whim: The Four Qualities That Make for Great Employees. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Pub, 2010. Print. ISN: 9781608445417.

There is more to hiring than just picking the candidate with the most charming personality. This  book is a must-read for anyone serving on a hiring committee. It can also be used as a manual for acing your next job interview. 

3. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.

Sandberg, Sheryl. Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. Print. ISN: 9780385349949.

"Sandberg’s advice to young women to be more ambitious, which can sound like a finger-wagging admonishment when taken out of context, is framed here in more encouraging terms — 'What would you do if you weren’t afraid?'— addressing the self-doubt that still holds many women back." 

--Anne-Marie Slaughter, The New York Times.

4. The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson.

 Blanchard, Kenneth H, and Spencer Johnson. The One Minute Manager. New York: Morrow, 1982. Print. 

The One Minute Manager is included in the Time Magazine's list of "25 Most Influential Business Management Books." It is included in my top 5 because it offers simple steps to becoming a fair and productive leader. This is a fast read, of course.

5. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.

Peale, Norman V. The Power of Positive Thinking. New York: Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1952. Print. ISN: 9780743234801.

"The name of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale will forever be associated with the wondrously American values of optimism and service. Dr. Peale was an optimist who believed that, whatever the antagonisms and complexities of modern life brought us, anyone could prevail by approaching life with a simple sense of faith." --President Bill Clinton.

6. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends & Influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1937. Print. ISN: 9780671027032.

"The book, a paean to integrity, good humor and warmth in the name of amicable capitalism, is as wholesome as a Norman Rockwell painting." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times.